Today we’d like to introduce you to Aeden Keffelew.
Hi Aeden, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
In 2019, I created MENZAY, a music and media production company focused on inclusive environmental stories and solutions, after releasing Black Natives and Lost Tribes, a full-length album produced at The Bomb Shelter Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hooray for the Riff Raff). I then went on to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy at UCLA to study media’s impact on policies in black, brown, and indigenous communities.
As the company grew, I learned strategies for merging environmental communications with practical sustainable solutions. I also worked as a freelance writer, screenwriter, and filmmaker with leaders in the environmental policy and communications spaces such as the UNDP, LA County Chief Sustainability Office, and the Schwarzenegger Institute, among others.
MENZAY is a company that brings together storytellers, creators, and builders to sustainably reimagine and recreate the world for future generations. We use media and policy to produce creative and development projects that help communities achieve inclusive, sustainable climate development goals both in LA and abroad.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a slow but steady journey with its own set of challenges, and it’s all been worth it. Our work is focused on ensuring processes are inclusive throughout the entire journey of a production, campaign, or development project. Usually, this takes having the hard conversations and making them as enjoyable and easy as possible. That process takes time and patience to perfect.
We’ve been grateful to have an experienced and inspiring communication and strategy team that has worked with some of the top global agencies and production teams in the world. The collective experience has made the journey so beautiful and rewarding. We’re all committed to the cause and mission.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about MENZAY?
The beauty of being a local business is that we get to work with companies and communities in Los Angeles that are committed to the same values as we are. As a multimedia production company focused on policy change, we not only create work that inspires solutions, we work to get the solutions done.
We offer TV/film screenwriting and production services, music writing and production services, and creative and policy strategies.
As the founder, I also volunteer as a tour guide with Destination Little Ethiopia to preserve the history of the Ethiopian community on Fairfax Avenue in LA. As the first ethnic enclave in Los Angeles to be named after an African country, Little Ethiopia is a vital part of the city. We’re working with small businesses, creatives, and government officials to historically preserve Little Ethiopia while also rebuilding the green infrastructure of the community on Fairfax Avenue.
Working with companies in and beyond Little Ethiopia allows MENZAY to support local businesses while reimagining what environmental policies and stories look like on a global level. We work local to inspire global.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Being a musician has helped ground and center me when it comes to the different aspects of the business. Music offers a place where I can continue to honestly and sincerely reflect on the ways I can be a better person and be of more service to the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.menzay.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aedenkmusic/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeden-keffelew-7a5845253
Image Credits
Keffelew Mulatu Keffelew
Maria Katre
Aeden Keffelew
Negest Legesse
